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The secret to learning a new language successfully

LTC Team — Mon, 10 Oct 2016 09:46:01 +0000

Want to know the secret to making your attempt at learning a new language more successful? Want to find out what will keep you motivated and learn much faster? Well, that secret is…confidence.

“Confidence comes from not always being right, but from not fearing to be wrong.”

-Peter T. Mcintyre

Yes, that secret might not seem like much, and may come across as more of a disappointment, but if there is one thing you can do to fast-track your language learning it is being confident. Your success depends on your level of confidence. It may sound obvious, but it isn’t actually. Confidence is the biggest hurdle anyone who is trying to learn a new language has in the beginning. Languages are about talking to people, putting yourself in situations where you might not feel very comfortable. If you lack the confidence , you will never truly be able to speak the language you are learning properly.

It doesn’t matter whether you make mistakes or that not everyone you talk to reacts positively. All that matters is that you are out there trying your best with what you know – and ultimately learning from your mistakes.

“Belief in oneself and one’s powers or abilities; self-confidence; self-reliance; assurance”
– Webster’s New Universal.

Once you start believing in your abilities and start saying you “speak” a language rather than that you are “learning” a language, your learning will speed up. As a result, you will focus less on what you are getting wrong and start focussing more on what you are getting right. Just keep at it – the more you speak, the less you will worry. Remember that any progress is good and means you are getting better at the language. Perfection isn’t nearly as important as believing in yourself.

Once you are confident, you will start thinking about correcting your mistakes. Yes, some native speakers will correct you, but that’s how you learn! No need to be embarrassed.

Learning a language by yourself is taxing – and usually unsuccessful. Most people quit once they hit a speedbump in their learning. But taking a Language Course in Cape Town with the Language Teaching Centre (LTC), you are not alone! At LTC you are encouraged to work hard and strive to learn the language you have chosen. With the help of our highly qualified teachers, you will be taught in a nurturing and positive environment where you will be encouraged to try your best. You don’t have to struggle by yourself – let the Language Teaching Centre help you.

Sound like a native speaker with idioms

LTC Team — Fri, 07 Oct 2016 14:17:40 +0000

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, an idiom is: “A group of words established by usage as having a meaning not deducible from those of the individual words.”

The main difference between a fluent speaker and someone who is learning a language is obvious: the fluent speaker knows how to use idioms.

Every language has a “flavour” such as the words, jokes, and phrases that can’t really be translated into another language. These aspects of a language play a big part in the personalities of native speakers of a specific language.

An example is Italian. It is a language packed with beautiful food-related idioms to express joy, problems, and so much more in daily life – most of which can’t be translated literally into another language. The word “abbiocco” is used to describe the contented and sleepy feeling one gets after a nice big meal. The closest phrase to this in the English language is a “food coma” which means being so full you can barely move. Or the phrase “Non tutte le ciambelle riescono col buco”, which directly translates as “not all doughnuts come out with a hole”. This means that something doesn’t turn out as you expect it to. An English speaker would instead say “there’s more than one way to skin a cat” which is similar to the Italian phrase.

Another example comes from Portuguese. The word “apaixonar” describes the moment just before someone declares their love to another. It is a verb, the actual act of falling in love. The closest word in English to this is “impassioned” but compared to the meaning “apaixonar” has, it is quite bland.

These words and idioms mirror the culture of the language they originate from. While Italian uses phrases that have to do with food, English speakers are much more likely to use idioms that offer disturbing images for comic effect. This reflects the dark humour of the British.

Using idioms that are unique to a specific culture is a huge part of your cultural identity. As someone learning another language, the quicker you understand – and begin to use the idioms of the language you are learning – the faster you will be able to have meaningful conversations with a native speaker.

But not to worry, you won’t have to do this all by yourself, the Language Teaching Centre (LTC) is here to help. LTC gives students from different countries, cultures, and backgrounds the opportunity to learn and engage with other diverse students and learn and discover more about each other’s languages and cultures. Study English in Cape Town, or Portuguese, Spanish, Xhosa, Zulu, German, Mandarin, French, Arabic, and Afrikaans. So do it – take a Language Course in Cape Town at the Language Teaching Centre. You won’t regret it!

Mistakes to avoid when learning a language

LTC Team — Fri, 07 Oct 2016 06:30:56 +0000

Don’t let these mistakes get in the way when you learn a new language, learn to avoid or overcome them and you are guaranteed to succeed! Here are the biggest mistakes to avoid when learning a language.

Fear of making a mistake

You might enjoy writing and reading in a different language, but when it comes to speaking it, you freeze up. No matter your level of confidence in general, the fear of making a fool of yourself when trying to speak a different language is very real. This almost irrational fear happens to the best of us, even Barack Obama freezes up when having to speak a foreign language.

The key to avoiding this mistake is just to push through your fears. It’s especially the anticipation of speaking a foreign language that gets to you, and just by pushing through that fear each time you will eventually feel confident enough not to dread speaking a different language. The more you speak the faster you learn. Force yourself to speak as much as possible in the language you are learning, and watch yourself flourish.

Not being open to other cultures

Don’t approach learning a new language with a closed mind, as this will show in your progress. To learn a language you need to live the language.

This means embracing its people, culture, and ways. If you are immersed and interested in the culture of the language you are learning you will be motivated to learn more – and faster. Immerse yourself as much as possible – you might even end up enjoying it!

Not listening

If you find that you regularly fall into the trap of not listening to what a foreign speaker is saying the chances are high that it is connected to your fear of making a mistake.

Many people get so caught up in needing to annunciate properly and use the correct grammar that they forget to actually listen to what the person is saying. This is actually much worse as you are more likely to say something irrelevant or be thrown off if they say something you weren’t expecting.

Making it insurmountable

Don’t make a mountain out of a molehill. If you make learning a language seem insurmountable, your brain will shut down and you will be unable to learn anything. You need to see learning a language as a marathon – not a sprint. Break your learning down into manageable chunks and achievable goals. Everyone learning a language starts out somewhere.

Don’t assume that other people are more intelligent than you because they speak 2 or 3 languages. All of them have gone through the frustrating process of learning and making mistakes. But they did not give up. So neither should you. Learning a new language is definitely achievable with the right tools and a healthy attitude.

The Language Teaching Centre (LTC)

One of those tools is the Language Teaching Centre (LTC). A language school in Cape Town, LTC gives you all you need to be able to learn a new language properly and easily. The Language Teaching Centre not only gives you the opportunity to learn new languages but also lets you engage with other students from different cultures and backgrounds. We even offer excursions about twice a week which are there to help students discover the beautiful city we live in. The breathtaking view of Table Mountain and the harbour will inspire you to tackle the task of learning a new language with vigour. Take a language course in Cape Town at the Language Teaching centre today and see yourself flourish.

Languages of the Cape

LTC Team — Fri, 23 Sep 2016 13:16:26 +0000

There are few places on this Earth as beautiful as Cape Town is. Amazing weather, amazing beaches, and an exquisite mountain hugging the ocean, what more could you want?

And there’s more – while most countries have only one or perhaps two languages, Cape Town is home to a number of different languages, and thanks to all the foreigners living in the Cape, while walking down the street you will hear a multitude of foreign languages as well.

Because of the rich cultural history, Cape Town is now not only home to English, Afrikaans, and Xhosa but to a large Dutch, French, German and Portuguese community. Other nationalities, such as Asians, Italians and Russians have made Cape Town their home too. Now, in post-Apartheid South Africa, the democratic constitution recognises 11 official languages as part of South Africa’s cultural heritage. This decision was made to elevate and advance the indigenous tongues of the country that were previously suppressed. Today, the majority of South Africans – and Capetonians in general – are able to speak more than one language, and may switch between languages during a conversation.

However, English, Afrikaans, and Xhosa remain the most widely spoken languages in the Cape, Afrikaans being the most spoken home language in Cape Town, with more than 40% of residents speaking the language. English is also quite widely spoken, and Xhosa remains the main language of the local African population.

The English used by Capetonians is known as South African English, which is different from British or American English. In South African English, there are many Afrikaans influences, and you will come across many typical South African expressions. In Cape Town – and South Africa as a whole – traffic lights are known as “robots” and a barbeque is known as a “braai.” These are only two examples of the diverse and colourful expressions prevalent in the Cape.

Public schools – and most private schools – teach according to the South African curriculum, which means the students get taught in two languages, usually English and Afrikaans, one being a home language and the other a first additional language.

There are a number of private and international schools that teach according to the British, American, German or French curriculum and that offer other languages. This year, Mandarin was actually introduced into the South African school curriculum as an additional language.

It’s unfortunate that other foreign languages are not taught in most Capetonian schools, but luckily that’s where the Language Teaching centre comes in. The Language Teaching Centre is an international language school situated in Cape Town. The centre offers English and other internationally recognised foreign language training and certification in a positive learning environment. The teachers at the Language Teaching Centre are highly qualified native speakers of the languages that they teach and their experience allows them to teach students of many different nationalities, backgrounds and languages in a nurturing and positive educational setting. The Language Teaching centre is all you need if you want to become fluent in another language.